Street-car motor



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. L. RICH.

STREET OARMOTOR.

No. 348,416. Patented Aug. 81, 1886.

I i M1 on o c a 12am to z 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

A. L. HIGH.

STREET GAR MOTOR.

No. 348,416. Patente Aug. 31, 1886.

amvemi o'c M ca 401 55L; Elam W013 2% WM Z UNITE STATES PATENT @rFicsoABRAHAM LINCOLN RICH, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

STREET-CAR MOTOR.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,416, dated August31, 1886.

Application filed May 5, 1886. Serial No. 201,156. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN RICH, of Allegheny, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Street-Car Motors, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,

forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a planView of a motor embodying my improvement-s. Fig. 2 is aside elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a detail, to be referred to.

My invention relates to devices for propelling street-cars; and itconsists in the construction and combination of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In thesaid drawings, A represents the usual side rails of astreet-railway. In the center, between these rails, there is laidacenter track or channel rail, B. This center rail is provided with alongitudinal slot or channel, (1, extending throughout its entirelength, the slot being sufficiently narrow to prevent the wheels of avehicle from dropping into the same. This channel in practice will beabout four orfive inches deep and two or three inches broad at thebottom. At intervals of one or two hundred feet there may be locatedopenings (not shown) on the sides of the channel,

to remove any dirt which may collect inside, the said dirt being scrapedto these openings with a suitable tool by a track-man. At regularintervals or spaces of three or four feet, or whatever distance practicemay determine, there are placed cross-pins or stationary cogs C, whichare fastened or bolted in such a manner that they can be removed readilyand replaced should they become broken or worn.

Secured to the bottom of the car or motor, directly over the channel B,by connectingrods D D, there is a longitudinal frame, E, in which thereare mounted four wheels, I) I) c c. The wheels I) b are located at eachend of the frame and rest upon the channel-rail and are provided with acentral flange or shoulder, (l.

taut at all times.

This flange will be about one-half inch wide and about one-half inchdeep, and is designed to serve as a guide to keep the frame directly inengagement with the slot in the channel rail B, the said flanges beingdesigned to run in the channel while the remaining portion of the wheelsare designed to rest on the top of the rail and on each side of theslot. Between these wheels, and within the frame, there are mounted thewheels 0 c, which are arranged slightly higher than the wheels I) b, sothat they do not come into actual engagement with the channel-rail.

Around the wheels 0 (2 there is passed an endless chain or belt, F, ofsuitable material, preferably a flat woven steel belt or chain, whichwill be about three inches wide and of a thickness sufficient to answerthe purpose for which it is used. At regular intervals or spaces alongthis belt, and at suitable distances apart, there are fastenedprojections orteeth f. These teeth will be of such size and shape as towork freely in the slot a when the belt is in operation, and to extenddown far enough below the stationary pins or cogs in the channelrail tocatch thereon.

The forward end of the longitudinal frame E is secured by theconnecting-rod D, which extends beyond said frame and serves as a lever,the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. At the point wherethis lever or rod is secured to the bottom line of car or motor there ismounted a bandwheel, 9, which is to be connected with the wheel 0 bybelts h, while another belt, h, extends from this wheel to a pulley, G,which receives and delivers the power generated by a small engine on thecar. The reason for placing this wheel on the same axis with the leveris, that it will always be the same distance from the wheel 0, to whichitis connected by the double line of belting,without regard to whatposition the lever may be in, and thereby keeping the connecting-beltAbove where the connecting rod or lever D is secured to bottom line ofcar or motor, there is fastened under the lever and resting on a base orcross beam an expanding spiral spring, II, which exerts an elevatingpressure on the upper end of the lever D, and causing a downwardpressure on lCO the lower end, and keeping the longitudinal frame E andwheels mounted therein in their proper position on the channel-rail.

The power for operating the motor may be furnished by any practicablemethod, as by a steam, gas, or oil engine.

The operation of my motor is substantially as follows: The enginebeingstarted, its power is communicated to pulley G and motiontransmitted to connecting wheel 0, thereby moving the belt, whoseprojections or cogs engaging the stationary pins or cogs in thechannel-rail propel the car. The mechanism described is also used instopping and checking or controlling speed, and when descending gradesby applying power in reverse motion, enabling cogs on belt to offerresistance to onward motion of the ear. The motor is capable of movingin either direction, backward or forward, on same track. By depressingconnecting-rod or lever D the whole contrivance can be thrown out ofgear with the stationary pins or cogs, and elevated above the track incase any serious obstruction is to be passed over, or, if such actionshould become necessary or desirable from any other cause. The pointswhere the connectingfrods are secured to the bottom line of car shouldbe the same distance apart as are the points where the connectingrodsare secured tolongitudinal frame E; also, the connecting-rods shouldbeof equal lengths, so that the longitudinal frame will remain in ahorizontal position when on the track or when being raised from ordepressed to its normal position. The stationary pins or cogs are placedsufficiently low in the channel to clear the flanges of theguide-wheels.

Should practice demonstrate the existence of a tendency of the cog-beltto slip on the wheels around which it passes to an extent that wouldrequire an absolute preventive of such slippage, there could be affixedto the inner side of the cog-belt a number of cogs at regular intervalsto work into depressions mortised into the rim or face of the cog-beltwheels.

If in practice there should be discovered a liability of the belt torise and throw the projections out of gear between the two beltwheels,there may be fastened under the longitudinal frame, between the twobelt-wheels c c, and extending down until it almost touches the track, ablock, J. This would prevent any rising of the belt, the block could belubricated, or there could be fastened to the bottom thereof a number ofsmall rollers, which would prevent any friction on the inner side of thebelt.

A motor of this description would be capable of climbing heavy grades,and of overcoming the obstacles which are often unsurmountable to othermotors, and would provide a more pleasant and rapid means of travelingthan is offered by horse-cars.

In rounding short curves where any difficulty should be likely to arisefrom the wheels binding in the channel, the latter could be widened (seeFig. 3) on the inner or shorter side of the curve, and the depthlessened to an extent that it would be shallow enough to allow thewheels of any vehicle to drop in without inconvenience or damage; or, if necessary, the lever could be depressed and'the machine elevated fromthe track, thereby permitting the car to round the curve with themomentum already attained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1 The combination, with a street-railway having a centrally-disposedslot or channelrail, of a frame pivotally secured to the carbody, andhaving flanged guide-wheels engaging the channel-rail, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with a street-railway having a centrally-disposedchannel-rail, of a frame pivoted to the car-body, and having flangedwheels mounted therein and engaging the channelrail, the connecting-armsD, and the connecting arms or lever D, for elevating the frame andwheels, substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, with the frame E, piv otally secured to thecar-body, and having flanged guide-wheels mounted therein, the wheels 0c, a belt passing around said wheels, and having teeth or projectionsextending therefrom, and the channel-rail having spaced pins engaged bysaid teeth or projections, substantially as herein described.

4. The combination, with a railway having a centrally-disposedchannel-rail, with transversepins secured therein, of a frame pivotallysecured to the car-body, the wheels 0 c, mounted in said frame, and anendless belt having projections engaging the transverse pins in thechannel-rail, substantially as here in described.

5. The combination, with a railway having a centrally-disposedchannel-rail, with transverse pins secured therein, of a frame pivotedto the car-body, an endless belt passing around wheels or pulley, andhaving projections engaging the channel-rail, and means for impartingmotion to said belt, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with the centrally-disposed channel-rail havingtransverse pins secured therein, of a..pivotally-secured frame havingwheels mounted therein, a belt having projections engaging thechannel-rail, and a lever pivoted to the frame and car-body, and adaptedto raise said frame and belt from the channel-rail, substantially asherein described.

7. The combination, with a centrally-disposed ehannel-rail havingtransverse'pins, as described, of a pivotally-secured frame withband-wheels mounted therein, the endless belt having projections orteeth extending therefrom, a lever for raising said frame and belt fromengagement with the channel-rail, and a spring for'returning said frameto its normal position, substantially as herein described.

IIO

8. The combination, with a eentrally-dis 10. Thecombination,with thecentrally-dis- 15 posed rail having the slot a and transverse posedchannel-rail, of the frame E, having pins 0, of the frame E, pivoted tothe earflanged wheels mounted therein and resting body, and havingwheels I) b and c c, the belt upon said rail, the band-wheels c c,journaled .5 having teeth or projections extending therewithin the frameand above the rail, and a from and engaging the pins 0, the band-wheelbelt having projections which engage trans- 20 g, belts h, and thepulley G, to which power verse pins in the channel-rail, substantiallyas is applied, substantially as herein described. herein described.

9. A frame pivotally secured to the ear- IO body, and an endless belthaving projections ABRAHAM LINCOLN RICH.

extending therefrom, in combination with a channel-rail havingtransverse pins engaged \Vitnesses: by the projections 011 the belt,substantially as PAUL HUETHER, herein described. H. C. HAYDEN.

